


Feral

by KateKoot



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels, Trauma Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29589852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KateKoot/pseuds/KateKoot
Summary: Daichi, Suga, and Asahi had been a pack, up until the day that Asahi got on a plane to take a business trip and never came back. After three months and no signs of life, they were forced to assume all the passengers aboard that plane were dead--including Asahi.Imagine their surprise when they were told that he was not only alive, but feral and bonded to an omega none of them had ever met.An AsaNoya A/B/O told mainly through spectator perspective as Noya and Asahi slowly recover their sense of selves, come to terms with the changes, and have to try to integrate their old packs together. The biggest problem, though, is that now that they're more in tune with their instincts, will they ever be able to go back to suppressing them?
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	1. One-way Glass

This wasn't what Daichi had expected feral to look like.

The way people talked about it he'd assumed there would be a sense of uncontrolled instinct, of wildness, of rabidness. But looking at Asahi through the glass he seemed more put together than he ever had. Like he was finally at peace with himself, certain and precise in everything he did. His eyes weren't clouded, they were sharp, intelligent. He was himself, but he was...more. Better.

No wonder so few people ever came back from ferality, if that's what it felt like.

"Three months," Suga whispered hoarsely. "Three months with strangers in the middle of nowhere. And he's alive?" Daichi squeezed his hand.

"He is," he forced out. "He's still alive."

"He's a very strong young man," the doctor said gently. "Of the nearly thirty people aboard that plane, your packmate is one of only four who survived both the crash and the wilderness. Rehab won't be easy, but I have faith in him." Daichi's lips pressed together.

"What about...?They told us he'd bonded with someone."

"Yes, Nishinoya Yuu, a travel blogger and omega one year younger than Azumane-san. He's actually in the room, but they've turned over the table to block sight of their nest. It probably makes them feel safer, so we aren't going to meddle with it. Small steps, one at a time." Daichi's stomach wriggled uncomfortably.

"That's why they're not separated?" he asked. The doctor nodded.

"They survived in large part by relying on each other, and with their new bond and heightened instincts right now we just can't risk trying to separate them. Not only could they lash out physically, but the psychological effects would be catastrophic." Suga swallowed heavily.

"Do you think--" he started. "Were they still...conscious, when they bonded, or were they already feral?"

That was Daichi's worst fear too. Pair bonds were strong, and they were permanent, so these two strangers were tied together now in a way that could never be reversed. Was it just for survival? When the threat was passed, and they were back to normal, would they hate each other? Worse, would Asahi ever forgive himself? They'd all heard of alphas forcing a mating bond, and if that's what happened...

"There's no way of knowing," the doctor said. "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it. The good news is that neither of them are showing trauma signs in regards to the bond, so it was most likely a joint decision, even if it was a feral one." Daichi nodded slowly. He wasn't sure how much better that was.

In the observation quarters, Asahi calmly knocked on the walls to hear their strength. Assessing, Daichi guessed, how sturdy their new home was. Daichi tried not to be sick. _Home._ This was their gentle giant's home now, for the half-year he went through rehab at least. And if he never came back from his feral state...

An excitable trill sounded through the microphones in Asahi's room, a head popping up from behind the table that had been laid on its side to enclose the corner. Daichi almost jumped out of his skin, and he could feel Suga do the same. Was that...?

_Asahi's mate._ Oh god, it was sinking in. Asahi had a _mate._

It became harder to deny when the trill was answered by a deep, rumbling croon and soft eyes. He looked like--he looked like he was in _love._ Daichi felt sick. The omega--Nishinoya--grinned brightly and hopped over the table completely, dragging a blanket with him. He was wearing it like a cape, but apparently the lack of scent it carried was a problem, because Nishinoya promptly threw it over Asahi's head instead. Asahi, permanently scared and easily startled Asahi, just moved it out of his face and chuffed a laugh, obediently rubbing it against his scent glands to appease the younger man.

"He's so small," Suga breathed. "You're sure he's really our age?"

"Just one year younger," the doctor nodded. "His packmate's flight lands this evening, if you want further confirmation."

"It's not that I don't believe you," Suga said, "it's just..." He looked back through the glass at the small omega--smaller even than most. He had to be barely over five feet, and with his big eyes and heart-shaped face he _looked_ like he could be anywhere between twelve and twenty. The doctor nodded understandingly.

"We were worried too, initially," she said, "but the routine exam showed that he is definitely past puberty."

"Exam?" Daichi asked, surprised. "You were really able to examine them?"

"Well, usually the first responders have to sedate them to assess their injuries, but in this case that wasn't necessary," the doctor said. "Actually, this is the first time I've never personally attended to someone in a feral state who willingly submitted to treatment."

"What does that mean?" Suga asked, worried.

"It's a very good sign," the doctor smiled. "Often people in a feral state are focused entirely on survival, and the introduction of strangers generally goes against that instinct. After all, more people means more competition, and more potential threats. But, because Azumane-san and Nishinoya-san established themselves as a pack, they were already more likely to see newcomers as potential allies. Of course the first responders said they did get growls and threatening posture when they first found the pair, but by showing deference they were able to quickly gain a little trust. It put them on what's essentially a 'trial period,' where the existing pack analyzes whether or not the newcomers are worthy of joining them, and that was enough to get them basic treatment and get them here."

"That's incredible," Daichi said, looking back at his best friend, who was laughingly getting pushed towards the nesting corner.

"It is," the doctor agreed. "And it bodes very, very well for their recovery. Feral packs are far more likely to regain social skills than lone feral people."

"What does it mean, though," Suga asked, "about us? We were a pack before this, and now..." Daichi felt panic seize him momentarily. Of course he'd thought about how this would change their dynamics, but neither of them had put it in words before. Somehow the possibility of getting Asahi back only to _lose_ him again seemed much more solid now that the question had been posed.

He flashed back to the first week after the crash, the phone calls, the search parties, the slow dying-out of hope and help. The months after, when Daichi would come home from work to find Suga asleep in one of Asahi's sweaters. The time that reality suddenly sunk in and Daichi trashed their living room, overflowing with grief and despair and anger and horror and-- He couldn't do that again. They couldn't go back to that again.

"I'm sorry to say I don't know," the doctor said. "Situations like these can go several ways. Sometimes the feral pack in question is its own entity, brought together by a trauma bond, and former pack members no longer fit in. Other times some or even all former pack members are able to integrate into the new pack over time. Other times the feral pack may fall apart as the individuals recover and start to return to their lives."

"But they're bonded," Suga surmised, pressing his lips together. The doctor nodded.

"Yes, they are. That complicates the situation, because that bond will exist no matter what and it will try to draw them back together, even if the bond no longer serves them. They will have to be part of each others' lives from now on, but we can only wait to find out what that looks like." Daichi looked back at the two.

"They do seem to get along," he said absently, watching Asahi rub his wrist glands against the small amount of furniture in their room. A few steps away Nishinoya was doing the same. _This is ours,_ they were saying. _Our territory, our home._ _An alpha to guard, an omega to nurture, and the both of us together to build._ He'd never seen Asahi look so content in a new place before. Suga squeezed his hand.

"Then we'd better get along too," he said. Daichi nodded solemnly. He could only hope that they could manage with this sudden and unknown new addition, but they were damn well going to try. "For Asahi."

"For Asahi."


	2. Noya's Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanaka's flight lands, and it brings trouble with it.

Tanaka hardly remembered the flight, except that he spent the whole time trying desperately not to vibrate out of his skin. _Noya's alive._ The wait while the pilot got them pulled up at the gate was unbearable, and Tanaka was left gripping his armrests to keep from demanding to be let off the plane _right this instant._ He probably looked completely insane--in fact, the looks he was getting from the flight crew and the person sitting next to him took the 'probably' right out of the equation.

He didn't care. His entire self was focused on one fact, and one fact alone.

_Noya's alive._

Three months-- _three months_ \--of walking around like a zombie, numbly fulfilling his duties only to numbly go home and numbly fall into sleep, and suddenly he could feel his blood moving again. _Noya's alive._ It was like an injection of straight espresso right into his veins after pulling an all-nighter, and he couldn't stay still. The instant the plane doors were open he was bursting out, ignoring the judgmental muttering of the other passengers. As if they mattered. Noya's _alive!_

He wove through the sleepy bustle of the arrivals gates, barely remembering not to push or nudge or bump the innocent bystanders he was rushing past (not that it always worked, but he at least shouted a 'sorry!' over his shoulder when he messed it up). He got on the train-thing, heart pounding, and the people around him subtly shied away. His hormones were probably stinking up the place--had probably done it in the plane too. He couldn't spare a thought to controlling it, not caring how it looked. They could call him a knothead if they wanted. Noya's alive.

The fresh air was a welcome relief, and he practically ran into the road hailing a taxi. "Nakamura Medical Center, please!" he gasped out.

"Where are your bags?"

"Didn't pack any! Let's go!"

Bless Tanaka's limited luck, he managed to catch the one driver who was totally willing to ignore some traffic safety rules to get him there faster. Tanaka pulled money out of his wallet and put it on the console, knowing that the moment the car stopped he'd be too busy running to Noya to remember to pay the poor man. It was a short drive, but out of gratitude Tanaka put down more than the ride would probably cost. Anything, _anything_ to get to Noya faster.

Sure enough, the driver didn't even get a thank you, though Tanaka hoped the man understood. He just couldn't _not_ bust through the doors, trip on the sidewalk, keep running. Noya was in there. _Noya's alive._

Maybe it was just in Tanaka's head, but the minute those sliding doors opened he was sure he could smell the faint and familiar smell of his pack brother under the stinging antiseptic that all the hospitals used.

It was a blur, being led to a room by a nurse who was saying something Tanaka wasn't listening to. The only thing that mattered was that Noya was behind that door. Except, when he burst in, no one was there. He looked around, confused and bordering on panicked-- _Noya's alive, Noya, Noya, where is Noya?!--_ until he saw a large glass window. He rushed over to it, peering into the room on the other side. Bed, stripped of sheets--not Noya. Table, on its side--not Noya. Tiny kitchenette with locked cabinets--not Noya. Hyperventilating, Tanaka banged on the glass.

"Noya?!" he cried, ignoring the nurse's shocked gasp. "Noya!"

It wasn't Noya who popped up, though. From behind the table a large alpha stood, looming, eyes quickly and efficiently scanning the room for the noise. His growl rattled around in Tanaka's chest, fear choking him from the inside because he _knew_ that alpha would rip his throat out if that's what it took to protect his home, but he still slapped the glass desperately. "Noya!" had they brought him to the wrong room? No, they'd said Noya was with someone--

"Sir, stop!" the nurse cried. The alpha-- _tall, powerful, commanding--_ hopped lithely from behind the table and began to stalk the edges of his room to find the threat. His teeth were on display, and Tanaka's neck itched with phantom pain. There were more people in the room, suddenly, someone's hand on his wrist. Tanaka screamed himself ragged, nothing but Noya's name and hot, desperate tears streaming out of him.

Then, from behind the table. Smaller, faster, no less lethal--Noya. Tanaka's sob shook his whole body. _Noya's alive._

It didn't matter that there were several people wrestling his suddenly limp body to the ground. It didn't matter that the alpha had pinpointed where the sound was coming from. It didn't matter that something sharp was pinching him between the ribs.

_Noya's alive._

Tanaka's drooping eyes stayed locked on the tense figure of his best friend, whose snarl quickly faded into confused curiosity, like he knew it was his packmate calling for him. Even when his vision blurred and his eyes crossed, as long as he could keep his eyes open he couldn't tear his gaze away. It settled in him, into a hollow space that had throbbed and ached for months.

_Noya's alive._

.

.

.

Suga was _pissed._

All they had done was go to the hotel across the street to get unpacked, knowing that standing there staring wouldn't accomplish anything. They'd just wanted to settle in, create some tiny shred of normalcy. Daichi was putting in an emergency transfer request to the police station in this town. And then it all came crashing down _again._

Daichi's hand was firm and reassuring on his shoulder, but he could smell the anger rolling under the surface. His fiance was just as mad as him.

"What does this do to their recovery?" Daichi asked, but Suga couldn't take his gaze away from the window. Asahi was restless and unsettled, re-scenting everything he'd already marked, anxiously trying to pull Nishinoya-san back into the nest to keep him safe. Nishinoya wasn't complying, darting around the room like he was looking for something. He wasn't as anxious as Asahi, but his energy was clearly becoming manic as whatever he wanted evaded him. Unfortunately, the longer he searched, the more anxious Asahi became, which only played off of Nishinoya's own mounting energy. Asahi kept trying to scent Nishinoya, assure himself that his mate was safe and present, but Nishinoya just kept squirming away.

"Admittedly, this is a bit of a setback," the doctor said. It was a different doctor, a man with black hair and glasses, but he was just as kind, if a bit more straightforward. "Normally we give patients a week at least to settle in before trying to intrude on their space, and clearly Azumane-san took this event as an attempted invasion. It's not ideal, but it's also not catastrophic. What's getting in the way at the moment in Nishinoya-san's reaction. It's atypical of a threatened omega, and we're still trying to figure out why he's reacting this way and how to help."

"And Nishinoya-san's _packmate?_ " Suga said disdainfully. Daichi rubbed his shoulder a little.

"Tanaka-san is currently still unconscious," Doctor Takeda said. "I'm sure they told you he had to be sedated." Daichi and Suga both nodded. "The good news is that his heightened emotional state seemed to be soothed by the sight of his packmate, so another outburst like this is highly unlikely, but just in case he will be accompanied by a nurse any time he's in the observation room. We want to avoid sedating people, of course, but we'll do it if we must."

"We want to talk to him when he wakes up," Daichi said. Dr. Takeda nodded.

"I fully understand. Once he's awake and Ms. Shimizu has put the fear of god into him--which, by the way, she's very good at, so I'll be surprised if he ever tries to cause trouble again by the time she's done--I'll get you in to talk to him. Just please try not to be too hard on him. I know it's difficult, when he's made such a dramatic mistake, but Nishinoya-san is is only packmate. When Nishinoya-san went missing, he had no one to help him cope. That doesn't excuse what he did, but I hope you can extend a bit of understanding." Suga pressed his lips together. He wasn't so sure.

Then again, with Asahi presumably gone forever, what would Suga have done if Daichi had died too? What would he have turned into?

He put that thought aside for later. He wasn't ready to feel pity just yet, not with Asahi whining just next door.

"We'll do our best," Daichi said, sounding almost reluctant. It appeared even the diplomatic Daichi could struggle to forgive. "He is our packmate's bondmate's pack." Suga twisted his mouth.

"We said we'd try," he admitted, though it tasted sour. Daichi pulled him closer, and Suga took some little comfort from the gesture. "...But later. I can't--I can't try right now." Daichi hummed, burying his nose in Suga's hair. Suga wasn't sure if that sound was supposed to be in agreement or understanding, but he got the feeling it came out as both.

He sighed, turning his back on the window to breathe. At least he wasn't doing this alone.


End file.
